PRCA judge Chuck Hoss talks with a cowboy JW Harris behind the chutes prior to the start of Thursday night's rodeo at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.

PRCA judge Wade Berry writes down a score during the bareback competition Thursday night's rodeo at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.

From standing in the dirt outside the buck shoot to sitting atop a horse near the starting gates, Chuck Hoss has just about the best view any rodeo fan could ask for.

Like the other two judges at this year's Kitsap Stampede, Hoss grew up in rodeo. After years of competing, he turned to judging instead of settling for just any old job.

"You're involved in all the events," Hoss said. "It's a really unique lifestyle because it's almost like paid vacation. Not many people have jobs that pay them to travel," he added with a smile.

For fellow rodeo judge Wade Berry of Miles, Mont., judging was a way for him to stay a part of the only life he knew.

"That's all I wanted to be was a cowboy — from the time I was a little kid," Berry said.

His dad was a steer wrestler and passed the tradition on to him and his siblings.

Berry, who made it to the 1987 National Finals Rodeo in steer wrestling, started judging while he was still competing about 30 years ago.

"You still want to be involved in rodeo — I'm pretty sure that's why I did it — to give back to rodeo," Berry said. "If you grow up wanting to be a cowboy, all you want to do is see an animal that can buck and someone who can ride."

But judging isn't all sitting back and enjoying the sport.

"Here you got seven different events," explained Hoss, who officiated football before rodeo.

"It's pretty fast-paced out there. You've got just a … " said Hoss, snapping his fingers. "When the whistle blows, they want your score in seconds. You've got to put it into numbers in seconds."

Making decisions quickly and being opinionated is what it's all about.

Throughout the rodeo, the judges can be spotted in black-and-white- striped vests in various spots across the arena, because their role changes with the type of event.

In bucking events — which include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding — two judges are stationed in the arena on either side of the buck shoot.

They judge both the animal and the contestant.

The animal is scored based on things such as power, speed, kick, change in direction, and the time and rhythm in how they buck, while the contestants are judged for spurring.

The judges divide the contestant in half, so to speak, each watching one side, or foot, to score for spurring.

Each judge gives both the animal and contestant a score of 1 to 25, for a total of up to 100 points.

The other events — timed events, which include steer wrestling, team roping, tie down roping and barrel racing — are judged differently.

Scores for these events are based on time, which begins when the animal triggers a barrier flag or when a judge drops the flag and ends when the task is complete.

Penalties are given when contestants leave their box early — before the animal has crossed the designated score line — and add 10 seconds to the time.

In barrel racing, a five-second penalty is assessed for each barrel knocked down.

Judges are well-versed on the rules, which can be confusing to fans.

"Most people out there don't know why or how we mark," said Hoss. "Really, they don't understand what we're doing out there."

That's where the announcer comes in.

"The announcer is out there to educate them on why we did what we did," Hoss said.

When Tom Lewis left the box early, breaking the barrier during steer wrestling Friday night, rodeo announcer Randy Corley did just that.

"That's a 10-point penalty," said Corley over the audience's boos. "You think you feel bad — that's like a speeding ticket that just cost him 1,400 hundred bucks."

In that event, the contestant clearly penalized himself. Other times, judges will have to explain why they gave a particular score.

"The judges decision is final," Hoss said. "When you make a bad call, you're going to feel bad. You're determining whether these guys make a living."